When weather turns roads slippery, many drivers don't leave even a fraction of that recommended driving room. And they pay for it.

WEST MICHIGAN -- Scott Wilber can't forget the icy night he was struck by a Dodge Ram pickup while standing next to his patrol car, helping at a crash along I-96.

Wilber, who had 15 years of experience as a Michigan State Police trooper, had only taken a few steps out of his vehicle when he turned around and saw the truck coming at him from behind.

He quickly swiveled to run away. He knew the stretch of I-96 in Walker near the Fruit Ridge Avenue exit was covered in a thick sheet of ice, after a bout of freezing rain. But it was too late. The roads were treacherous and the driver couldn’t swerve anywhere fast.

“I thought for sure I was dead,” Wilber recalls of that night on Dec. 1, 2007.

He is one of a handful of area law enforcement officers who shared their tales of braving West Michigan's winter roads with MLive and The Grand Rapids Press.

The pickup did strike Wilber in the back that night after hitting the edge of his patrol car. The impact catapulted Wilber into the air, over the hood of his patrol car. Almost unbelievably, Wilber suffered no broken bones or major injuries.

He counts himself fortunate. He was back on the job after several rehabilitation appointments and a month off of work.

But the night more than any other reminds him of the basic rough weather driving principles he emphasizes to all drivers:

• Slow down

• Leave plenty of room between your vehicle and the one in front of you

• Look way ahead; anticipate things happening along the side of the road

The posted speed limit on the highway may be 70 mph, Wilber says. But on that icy night, that certainly wasn’t the reasonable speed to be traveling.

He tells drivers to leave one car length between their vehicle and the one in front for every 10 miles of speed on a clear day. That means five car lengths for 50 mph and seven car lengths for 70 mph.

When weather turns roads slippery, many drivers don't leave even a fraction of that recommended driving room, he said. And they pay for it.

“You’re going to hit the guy in front of you,” Wilber said.

Grand Rapids Police Sgt, Steve LaBrecque has his own memories of just how quickly one crash can lead into another in difficult winter driving weather.

LaBrecque was in downtown Grand Rapids on an early morning in March 2005 when he learned of a pileup on U.S. 131 that was said to involve upward of 80 vehicles.

“It was perfectly sunny here in town,” he said.

LaBrecque headed up to the scene near Post Drive, knowing the situation would require help from multiple area police agencies.

What he found when he got there was startling.

A sort of “snow squall” had hit the immediate area, causing a quick whiteout that led to chaos for highway drivers.

“It was just a crazy, weird, freaky situation,” LaBrecque said, describing the “eeriness” of arriving on scene to complete silence — no highway traffic noise. “It took a few minutes to get organized, to figure out how we were going to do it.”

The stretch of highway between Post to West River Drive was broken up into chunks, with teams of officers and troopers handling different sections.

Nearly 100 vehicles had crashed, including a semitrailer that had split in two and another car that landed on top of a minivan, according to The Grand Rapids Press archives.

One motorist died that day and at least 33 others were injured, two critically. The highway was closed in both directions for four hours.

One driver told a Press reporter that day that many vehicles were traveling along at 70 mph going into the sudden whiteout.

LaBrecque can’t emphasize enough the importance of traveling at a speed reasonable for conditions. He and Wilber recommend keeping a full tank of gas, anticipating trouble and realizing it will be useful in keeping a vehicle warm should it slide off the road — especially if kids are riding along.

“It’s just as easy to keep the top half (of the tank) full as the bottom half,” Wilber said.

LaBrecque recommends keeping some kitty litter bagged in the trunk to help with tire traction in case your vehicle gets stuck. Keep a small shovel in the backseat.
And make sure to have a full supply of blankets and warm clothes.

On a recent snowy night, the wait time for police response to a non-emergency situation had reached more than an hour, Wilber said.

Staying warm during that wait time is important.

Kent County Sheriff’s Sgt. Corey Luce recalled two fatal crashes that happened this November — at the very start of the winter driving season, one of the first snows.

In one case, there was no indication the driver was speeding by normal standards. But the rules of the road require motorists to travel at a reasonable speed for the conditions — whatever that may be.

Luce, who heads the sheriff’s department’s traffic and safety unit, emphasized the importance of not pulling out of the driveway until the windshield and windows are cleared of fog, show and ice — even if it means pulling on gloves and scraping for a few minutes.

Make sure windshield wipers are in good working condition and headlights and taillights are operable, Luce advises. Check the tail pipe— if a motorist backs into a snow bank, it can fill with snow and pose a danger for those inside the vehicle.

Perhaps most importantly, Luce advises, keep your cell phone battery charged. One of the worst problems during an emergency is not having a way to call for help. Stay with your vehicle, Luce says, and make that call for help. Emergency assistance will come.

Winter driving does not have to mean slide-offs and crashes, says Wyoming Police Sgt. Mark Easterly.

Easterly drives at night in some of the worst snowy conditions, as do hundreds of other police officers across West Michigan each day.

Easterly recalled he and other officers borrowing four-wheel drive vehicles from the city’s public works department to get through snow on at least one very snowy occasion last winter. Even then, that four-wheel drive doesn’t make a difference in stopping faster — only gaining traction, he says.

Easterly and his co-workers made it through that night by traveling slow and practicing safe driving tactics.

“You’re watching all these other people who are going too fast, spinning their wheels,” Easterly recalled. “Drive for the conditions.”

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Things to keep in the backseat for safe winter driving:

• Plenty of blankets, coats, gloves and other warm clothes that will fit anyone riding along

• Packaged snacks, bottled water

• At least one flashlight

• A bag of kitty litter to help with traction

• A fully-charged cell phone (charge before leaving the house). A car charger is also helpful.